Starz Play Arabia secures investment funding

Starz Play, the on-demand video streaming service available in 19 countries across the MENA region, has announced a new multi-million-dollar funding investment. This investment is led by existing investors including SEQ Capital Partners and new investors including Delta Partners Capital, an emerging market centric advisory and investment platform for the telecoms, media and digital space.

Starz Play, which commenced operations just 18 months ago, welcomed more than 17 million site visitors in October 2016 with its portfolio of movies and TV series including Power, Black Sails and Ash vs Evil Dead from original investor, Starz. The service has grown exponentially, achieving double digit month-on-month revenue and subscriber growth since launch. The service can be accessed in 19 countries across the MENA region and the investment will be used to finance Starz Play’s continued expansion of its services and partnerships. The funding will also allow further content acquisition, allowing Starz Play to license additional titles to sit alongside its popular series, which include Showtime’s Billions and Ray Donovan together with award winning titles such as Vikings, Grey’s Anatomy, Top Gear, Quantico and The Walking Dead.

Maaz Sheikh, CEO of Starz Play, commented: “Strategic partnerships with leading studios, major telecom groups and device manufacturers have proven our long-term business model. We now enjoy a six-figure subscriber base of customers in MENA who enjoy the affordable, on-demand experience our service provides. We’ve also made subscribing to Starz Play easier and even better value than ever by introducing mobile phone bills as a payment option and creating attractive offers through telecom service providers. This funding demonstrates the continued confidence our current investors have in Starz Play. We’ve raised the bar for subscription video on demand services in this region and these new funds will enable us to further enhance our content and technology offering.”